


and in the light, i will be just fine.

by honeyflow



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Flashbacks, Intentionally vague references, Panic Attacks, i mean it's super short y'all, part of a series, very short
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 04:20:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16110683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honeyflow/pseuds/honeyflow
Summary: There are times where you have to pick up the pieces yourself.





	1. churning.

**Author's Note:**

> Fits into the "Help Me Understand" series on a technical note, but currently, there is nothing of note to officially link it.  
> Brief, non-graphic mention of vomit at the end. As always, thank you for reading!

The numbness brewing in the pit of Naomi’s stomach had swallowed her by the time she’d finished sending Cindy a goodnight text. It started with a sniff, and a flutter of her lashes, vain attempts to keep the waters in. it had been mere heartbeats when she couldn’t take a breath without shuddering, and the dam broke, out spilling tears she never thought she’d shed over that person again.

Despite her best efforts, she was in hysterics, hiccupping and snotting with puffy cheeks and a quivering lip, the picture of disgrace willing herself to stop, _stop_ , _**stop**_. The midnight snack she’d just finished leapt into her throat with an acrid eagerness, propelling itself into the kitchen sink without so much as waiting for her to register it happening. She hated those memories. She hated that person.

Boneless, Naomi collapsed onto the unforgiving cold of the kitchen floor, clutching herself with too-tight hands to desperately tether a flickering soul to a bruised, trembling body.  
It felt good to scream. That person could never touch her at this volume, nor with the contempt coating her tongue. 

When her eyelids were swollen, and her cheeks were stained with tears, Naomi swept her palms against her eyes to rid herself of her tears, wiped her nose gracelessly on the collar of her shirt, and rose, wavering slightly, to turn on the tap. 

She remembers, vividly, that person once rinsed her vomit from the sink.


	2. Chapter 2

To: Gladio  
_Keep Prompto busy while me n noct hit up misty’s this afternoon_  
_I’m cranking out his birthday present  
Prom’s not noct’s lol_

From: Gladio  
_I’ll take him to a movie  
That gonna be long enough?_

To: Gladio  
_Hit up the arcade after and we can probs meet you there  
Just text when ur done!_

From: Gladio  
_U got it_

*

As planned, the afternoon was spent pleasantly over milkshakes with Noctis, tucked into a booth at the back of a rarely-busy diner where really, any seat would’ve been fine, but Noct wanted the luxury of seeing whoever entered before they saw him. “I’d rather not have to ruin my hair,” he’d bemoaned, “but I brought a hat just in case.”

Naomi, clad in Noctis’ ridiculous fishing hat, barely registered their waitress coming by to check on them, not until said employee flicked her eyes from the serving tray to their overcrowded table. Every inch of the table’s surface with various magazine cut-outs and scraps of glitter paper, all arranged in a delicate manner as to not mingle with the condensation rolling down the sides of their glasses.

Noctis chewed his lip with that amused look in his eyes, choosing to watch the way the waitress shot Naomi a judgemental look as she leaned bodily for the empty glasses shoved beside the napkin dispenser. In a last minute bid to save face, Naomi gathered the last of the glassware and set them on the half-full serving tray, offering the girl a flustered smile before she walked off.

“Could’ve been worse.” Noct offers.  
Naomi raises a skeptical brow, but takes the bait regardless with a nod of acknowledgement.  
“You could’ve had more glasses.”

Thinly-veiled amusement danced in the brown of Naomi’s eyes as she stuck her tongue out at him teasingly. 

The prince raised his brows in a cheeky display and leaned forward on his elbow, gesturing to the mess of things his companion was suddenly busing herself with again. He observed her silent frenzy, nudging various tubes of glitter glue and rolls of tape in her periphery whenever she palmed the table in search of them. They hadn’t been friends for very long, but Noct knew that given time, she’d reveal her artsy-fartsy secrets.

“Okay!” She announced triumphantly. “It’s done. Take a look!” under the table, her feet tapped in a self-provided drumroll, stopping when she lifted carefully her still-drying scrapbook. A hodgepodge of images adorned the two-page spread, ranging from candid photographs, to small Ziploc bags of various soils and sands, held down at the corners with brightly-patterned washi tape.

Noctis accepted the book with careful hands as it was passed to him, setting it gentle on his side of the table. “Hey, these are mana potions!” He noted with a grin, gesturing to the page. “You play King’s Knight?”  
Naomi beamed from beneath the brim of Noct’s too-big cap of inconspicuousness, shooting him an enthused pair of finger guns. “Just for cross-reference. I wouldn’t’ve known it was Knight-themed tape if I hadn’t downloaded it to double-check.”

“Smart. If you ever decide to play for real, I’ll gift you some armour.”  
“Aww.” Naomi cooed. “I’ll take you up on that sometime.”

Noct shot her a wink with a click of his teeth before turning his attention back to her scrapbook.


End file.
